Postman, Reach out and Elect Someone
Group 1 I. Reach Out and Elect Someone a. Ronald Reagan metaphor-"Politics is just like show business", a hint towards politics as a sort of spectator's sport. b. If politics was a sporting event-virtues of "clarity, honesty, and excellence". As far as show business of politics goes, is to appear to do as much as pursue these things (remember, it is a spectator's sport), while not necessarily having to actually pursue these things. II. What is politics really doing with television? a. Are they ruining television? Arguably, yes. While television's main purpose is to please its audience, knowing how to appeal to the crowd can sell politics in a flashy manner that newspaper and radio simply cannot. Perhaps a false advertisement of telling us what we want to hear? Observe the discomfort of this first televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon. How do you think Kennedy won? Appearance and flair, or purely political agenda? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbrcRKqLSRw b. Title of Joe McGinnis’ book: The Selling of the President (1968) i) Describe what the book was about.- The relationship of politics and advertising, this segues into arguing that America's new primary method for "political discourse" is through the television commercial (remember the last election's campaign ads?) c. A forty year old American will have seen how many commercials? i) Over 1 million commercials and television ads at this point, and nearly another 1 million to go by the time Social Security takes effect (between the ages of 62 and 66) III. The Arts of Show Business: a. Five different arts- music, drama, imagery, humor and celebrity. IV. Theories a. Capitalism- A product of post Enlightenment Era (the 17th and 18th centuries), a form of economy in which investors are free to buy, sell, produce and distribute goods or services with limited government interaction and control (Wikipedia) i) Example-While a buyer may be inable to make a rational decision, transactions can be passed to invalidate transactions, such as a child signing or making a contract. (p. 127) b. Buyer i) Example- Sellers must be truthful about their products, without this, a buyer has no protections against false claims (p. 127) V. The “pictorial commercial” a. Reading definition- using imagery for claims, appealing to emotions more so than truths to appeal to consumers. b. McDonalds commercial-a sort of "myth", according to the text, showing beautiful people engaging in the sale and consumption of fast food hamburgers in an over-exaggerated pleasing manner that makes food consumption look euphoric and a state of ecstasy. c. Selling of the character of the consumer of products i) People shown-Attractive people that we would want to associate with (movie stars and athletes)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmrTDZy3f2M-A burger and fries you would smash your backboard over! ii) Activities shown-Consumption of product an overwhelming experience of pleasure. Familes on picnics, fishing trips, etc. in pure delight and fantasy (do we associate fast food with a form of escapism?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eN9KP6lOZs-Do your family dinners at McDonald's really look like this? iii) Feelings shown-Pleasure ( again, to an extremely over-exaggerated extent)- Burger King selling sex and food http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU4OZJDAlj4 Group 2 d. Nothing about the product is shown i) What is really being shown- What commercials really show when it comes to displaying products to consumers, they mention nothing about the product itself. Rather, they instead choose to display the approaches and imagination of the potential buyer of their product or products. b. What does the advertiser need to know? i) Example from reading- Advertisers easily can get mixed up when they get asked this question but the answer is simple. They need to make sure they are aware of the buyer of their product first and not the product itself (product researching to market researching) (Postman, 129). c. George Orwell essay was called: This is a well-known essay titled “The Politics of the English Language” i) Explain what Orwell was writing about- Orwell wants readers to know that politics has become a “distinct mode of discourse” and a means of defending a defenseless area. Politicians were viewed as a fraud and a mistrusted class of individuals who had lost their own way (Postman, 129). II. Chief instrument of presenting political ideas a. What method is used? - The method of choice used by politicians as the best way to convey political ideas and concepts is through the television commercial. b. Explain/Example of Way 1- Through political campaigns i) Who was against this idea?- A former New York City mayor by the name of John Lindsay. ii) Include examples of political figures in the media from the reading. Lindsay considered the thought of banning political advertisements on television. Additionally, the state of New York’s senate battle between Jacob Javits and Ramsey Clark used cartoons as its form of commercials. Javits was the one who used this technique and it won him the senate seat in convincing fashion (Postman, 128). c. Explain/Example of Way 2- Accepting them as a reasonable form of discourse i) Give lengths of times of commercials- You have three different times when it comes to commercials. The most popular form is the shortest, which is about twenty seconds and that is followed by the thirty second commercial and the least popular is the minute-long commercial ii) Explain the idea of therapy through commercials- Commercials are designed to make us feel that through the meeting of the latest technology, techniques and even chemistry; all problems can be deciphered and can be resolved in a rapid manner. (Postman, 130) III. The validity of commercials a. Pseudo-parable- A false arrangement of information that individuals can easily misconstrue (misinterpret). In television commercials, this refers to the presentation of products or services that are hard to believe and are communicated in an erroneous way to their intended audience (Postman, 131). b. How to live your life- A few people argue that commercials cannot influence how they should live their lives, but as research indicates, a few television commercials do, in fact, allow for one to sit back and think about new ways to live their lives. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=B0joJy4dRh8 c. Visual symbols- Perhaps the commercials biggest asset, these symbols allow for learning to take place wherever there is a television set in a more stress-free and efficient manner (Postman, 131). IV. Does television free politicians from their own expertise? a. State answer and explain reasoning using the article- According to Postman, it is stated that watching and engaging with television commercials does indeed permit politicians to go away from their specialization and be known as “celebrities” (p. 131-132). V. Politicians finally come to forefront a. Politician-celebrity idea- Based on the comparison between the two individual statuses, this notion is centered on the idea of politicians becoming a celebrity through the means of being organized into the alleged “''culture of television”. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1FCo2lpWnzM b. Senator Everett Dirksen- In the decade of the 1960’s when commercials were experiencing a popularity increase, Everett Dirksen, a respected senator from Illinois, made a surprise appearance on the hit comedy show ''What’s My Line? Ronald Reagan[MS1] – This late President of the United States did a short stint on a show based off of how a regular television commercial was structured. This show was called Laugh-In. (Postman, 132) ---- Group 3 d. Political parties i) Political election voting (1) Candidate’s name: Harry Truman (2) Candidate’s personal life: Truman was a very well-known man, but was not yet considered a celebrity. ::: (3) Candidate’s character: Truman was known for always talking politics. He was not that interested in becoming a celebrity. The article hints at the fact that he was way more interested in politics than shifting his character on some television show. ***Postman makes a great remark about how image is a huge factor in how people vote; however, many politicians purposefully shift their image only for the audiences liking. e. Voting discrepancies between parties and candidates X. “Image Politics” a. Understanding image of politicians: Politicians began putting their image out there as entertainment. The article even says that Jonh F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon put their image out there to appear as a celebrity figure. (Postman, 132). They were guests on television shows. Once television became a popular medium, politicians became more like celebrities rather than politicians due to this medium. It allowed voters to see who the politicians were as human beings (their image). b. Understanding image of television i) Bell telephone romances: The Bell telephone romances is one of the best examples of image politics. These appeared as commercials created by Steve Horn that reminded viewers of the power of a phone call and how it can reconnect you with family members. However, this commercial was more than that. It was an informative commercial to discuss and encourage people to use Bell’s invention, the telephone while connecting with people’s own personal lives. (134) ii) New definition of family and intimacy: The Bell telephone romance is an example of how intimacy was redefined. Instead of people meeting face to face in an intimate way, they can still experience that intimacy through the telephone. c. Lesson television commercials teach: According to the article, television commercials show us “compelling images ourselves” (135). This soon became in interest in campaigns. Politicians decided to not just put information out there, but to connect with their audience and pull at their hear strings. d. “Self-interest” voting i) Meaning of voting in “self-interest”: This became a huge part of voting. With the new way of campaigning, people began to vote for politicians who shared the same interests as them. As the article says, “interests meant something tangible-patronage, preferential treatment…” (Postman, 135). Image politics really began to shift how people chose their favorite candidate. ii) Judging of races using method: The article insinuates that black people may be the only voters who don’t vote on their interests, while that’s the only thing whites are concerned about when they see a politician on their television. e. Role of history: The article uses an example of Abraham Lincoln. He most likely wouldn’t be the best at image politics, because he is never smiling in his pictures. Presently, politicians can make viewers believe anything by using commercials that help the viewers see them in a new light. The article says that books are history while television is the present (136). f. Television as a medium i) Two different types: There is a “speed-of-light medium” and a “present-centered medium” (Postman, 136). The speed of light medium refers to the intantanious nature of television. Whenever you flip the TV on, there is a show to watch that is sharing information and sending messages. The present-centered medium refers to the fact that TV is more concerned with present-matters rather than discussing historical events. :: ii) Forefather references: Postman says, “Moreover, like its forefather, the telegraph, television needs to move fragments of information, not to collect and organize them” (136). Essentially Postman is saying that television needs to move from sharing bits and pieces of information to constructing a cohesive whole. :: iii) We won’t remember: Television is all about the present which leaves historical stories and ideas in the past. Essentially, television is contributing to people not remembering or learning about the past. XI. Important historical statements a. Carl Schorske: Carl is a historian who believes that television has made history irrelevant, because it is instantaneous and all about the present. : b. Bill Moyers: Bill believes that television is so focused on the present that it is turning history into a foreign concept or idea. He seems to be very disappointed by what television has done to people learning about history. : c. Terrence Moran: Moran, on the other hand, is concerned about the episodic nature of television. He believes that there are fragments of information and messages that are heard on the television, which makes it difficult for people to piece information together as a whole. : d. Henry Ford: Henry Ford simply says, “History is bunk. History doesn’t exist” (Postman, 137). He believes history no longer exists, because television focuses too much on the present. Group 4 XII. Politics of image and news is unable to provide the following: a. List things not provided by this branch of politics XIII. Why are Orwell wrong and Huxley right? a. Orwell’s thoughts b. Huxley’s thoughts XIV. Milton’s reviews of book censorship a. Important books i) Name of important books XV. Information and ideas did not become a problem until the maturing of? a. Date of maturation b. Those who recognized the problem were: XVI. Orwell envisioned what for Western Democracies? a. Orwell’s vision b. Orwell was right about his vision except for which countries i) List countries XVII. The Age of Print and Tyranny a. The Bill of Rights and Corporate State XVIII. Problems posed by television: a. Gerbner’s quote about television b. List all problems Section heading Write the first section of your page here. Section heading Write the second section of your page here.